Study Break
by aBraveNewShip
Summary: It's about that time of the semester. Emma and Regina are plagued by the injustice that is final exams. Which one is feeling the stress more? Regina? Or her all-too playful girlfriend, Emma? Most definitely an AU, SwanQueen one-shot.


**A/N** \- Just another quick one-shot for y'all while I finish up with finals. Obviously, they've inspired a short story. Sorry it's not more detailed/in-depth. Just a lil' something for fun :) Also, I finished this around 2 o'clock this morning, haha. I'm hoping it's at least decipherable. Enjoy!

* * *

"Emma! I said knock it off!" Regina hissed over her shoulder. Her nose had been buried in a pile of notes and stacks of notebooks for nearly five hours straight. The desktop that she and Emma shared was open to the powerpoint presentations the instructor had posted online. Her concentration was only broken when the blonde launched a paper airplane at her head. "You know I can't slack off now," the brunette added angrily, her nostrils flaring in frustration.

Sitting on the floor with her legs crossed pretzel-style, the woman with honey-colored curls had her chin resting atop her hands innocently, which were pressed against the sofa table. Unlike her girlfriend, she'd completed all of her final exams and turned in all of her term papers; of course, that didn't mean she'd done well on any of them. "Come on, Gina, it's getting late. We both hafta get up early tomorrow. You got your test and I got work."

Biting on the end of a plastic pen, Regina clenched her jaw in a rhythmic fashion. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail with a pencil wedged in a scraggly knot; she'd forgotten it was there. Staring at her neatly-transcribed notes from her biology lecture, Regina replied with a curt, "I can't. I'm not done yet."

Hoisting herself up with a loud groan, Emma crossed their small living room and carefully leaned against makeshift desk they'd constructed out of cardboard boxes they'd used when moving into their apartment. "You're joking, right? Regina, you've been going over this stuff since Tuesday. If anyone's got the material down, it's you."

Pursing her lips together in a thin line, Regina dismissed Emma's assurance and readjusted her stiff back; she sat hunched over the papers, less than an inch-away from her work. Emma's hovering only made her more antsy. "If you're tired, then maybe you should just go to bed. It's not like you've got anything else to worry about. You're done with everything."

Emma folded her arms over her chest and noted Regina's agitated tone. "It's not the same without you," she pouted.

"You know, there were several nights that you stayed up well-past midnight last week. I think you can handle one or two on your own."

Too fatigued to form a coherent argument, Emma pressed the power button on the monitor and watched as the screen went black. As expected, Regina was displeased. Jumping out of her seat and dropping her notes in the process, a ferocious growl resonated in her throat. "Emma Swan! What the hell?! You know I was using that!"

"I know," Emma replied calmly. Even with Regina breathing fire, the blonde was unfazed. In their three-year relationship, they'd endured many disputes and Emma had quickly learned not to be so easily deterred.

"Do you _want_ me to fail?! Is that what's going on?! Do you have any idea how hard I've been working on this class?!" the child psychology major howled. The familiar vein that protruded when she was angry throbbed in her forehead as flames flickered in her chestnut eyes. Regina stomped her foot in rage as Emma blocked her attempts to turn the computer back on. "Dammit, Emma! Stop being so immature!"

"You need a break— but more importantly, you need sleep, Regina. That's not being immature, that's being concerned for your health," Emma corrected.

"What I _need_ is to study! Now if you would just," Regina grunted as she tried to shove Emma out of the way, "move so I can," she tried again, "finish my work!" Finally, Emma gave in and unlocked her knees, allowing Regina to think she'd won. "Aha!" Pulling up their ottoman-slash-chair, she resumed her work and picked up where she'd left off. "I don't understand why you insist on acting like a child. You're too old for some of this stuff. Sometimes, I just don't know what to do with you," she grumbled.

Standing behind Regina, Emma rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine, you don't want a break, then don't take a break. But I'm drained. I'm going to bed. Try not to make too much noise when you finally explode." Turning so fast that her hair slapped her face, she scuffed down their short hallway and disappeared into their room. She knew being a senior was going to be hard, especially on Regina; she just hadn't anticipated it being _this_ hard.

Shaking her head to herself, Regina mumbled under her breath as she typed in the password to unlock the screen. She was still riled up about her girlfriend's antics, the ridiculousness of it all. "So childish," she repeated to herself. "So annoying," she added. Regina had an entire list of names and insults she could rifle through, but she stopped when she saw the background image on the computer. She'd forgotten what it was, to be honest. She had so many windows up over the past few days, the picture they'd designated as their wallpaper had completely slipped her mind.

Taken just several months earlier on a warm day in September, Emma stood over a crouching Regina with handfuls of leaves falling on top of the brunette. Emma's mouth was open in a hearty laugh and Regina's eyes were shut as she giggled with joy. Just three months ago, they were perfectly happy. Sure, they were doing just fine now, but this time of the semester always tested their relationship. They needed every ounce of strength that they could muster.

As Regina stared at the picture, she slowly became consumed with regret and remorse. Her insults, while somewhat mild, rang in her ears as she replayed them over and over again. She could hear drawers opening and slamming shut in their bedroom and she knew Emma was upset— it was all her fault.

After sitting still for several minutes, Regina eventually got up from her post and sauntered to their designated area. Emma went from fluffing her pillow to wrestling with the blankets and so on and so forth. She had to be covered from her stomach to her toes. "I thought you were studying," Emma said through gritted teeth. Her white tank top exposed her muscular shoulders and arms as she pulled her hair out of the way. Her biceps unintentionally flexed, momentarily distracting her other half.

"I was," Regina said meekly as she leaned against the doorframe.

Positioning herself so that she hugged her knees to her chest, Emma rested her back against the pillow. "And you stopped because….?"

Walking as if she were on a tightrope, Regina approached the bed and paused at the edge. With one leg crossed over the other, she kept her gaze on her shoes. "Because I felt too bad."

"Bad about what?"

Now sitting with on knee on top of the mattress, Regina plucked at a feather sticking out of the stitching. "Well, see, I snapped at my girlfriend when she was just trying to help and… and I'm really sorry."

"Uh huh… go on."

"And… and I could really use a study break," Regina admitted. "But, I'm hoping I'll be forgiven first."

Emma nodded slowly to herself, mostly to make Regina suffer the anticipation. Stretching her legs out in front of her, the blonde waited another few seconds before finally making space on Regina's side. "I think I could be persuaded to accept your apology," Emma said with a wink.

A relieved smile suddenly became Regina's exterior as she removed her flats and slid beneath the sheets. She curled up to Emma as the woman wrapped her arms around the brunette; the warmth of her body brought great comfort to Regina. Eventually, their beating hearts synchronized and pounding in-time to one another's, as it often did when they were so close. Tucked into the crook of Emma's neck, Regina inhaled deeply and savored the scent of her lover: hot cocoa— Emma's favorite drink in the wintertime. "Do you really think I'll do all right tomorrow?" Regina wondered sheepishly.

"I don't think Gina; I know. You always get the highest score," said Emma. "You just gotta have more confidence."

"Hmm…"

Regina's grasp on Emma's hand loosened slightly and the blonde glanced down at person on top of her. "Gina?" she tested. "Regina?" But it was no use. The future Dr. Mills was sound asleep, safe in the arms of the future Principal Swan. Carefully, Emma shut off the light on her nightstand and shifted slowly until she was laying down as well. Tossing the blanket over the rest of Regina, she planted a gentle kiss Regina's nose and released a quiet sigh. "Sometimes, I just don't know what to do with you."


End file.
